The National Dance Awards 2008, were organised and presented by The Critics' Circle, and were awarded to recognise excellence in professional dance in the United Kingdom. The ceremony was held at the Sadler's Wells Theatre, London, on 26 January 2009, with awards given for productions staged in the previous year. [1]
No special awards were presented for the 2008 season.
A ballet dancer is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. Ballet dancers are at a high risk of injury due to the demanding technique of ballet.
Sir Matthew Christopher Bourne is an English choreographer whose work includes contemporary dance and dance theatre.
The Royal Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in 1931 by Dame Ninette de Valois, it became the resident ballet company of the Royal Opera House in 1946 and was granted a royal charter in 1956, becoming recognised as Britain's flagship ballet company.
Tamara Rojo CBE is a Spanish ballet dancer. She is the English National Ballet's artistic director (2012–2022) and a lead principal dancer with the company. She was previously a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet. She will become the artistic director of San Francisco Ballet in late 2022.
Natalia Romanovna Makarova is a Russian prima ballerina and choreographer. The History of Dance, published in 1981, notes that "her performances set standards of artistry and aristocracy of dance which mark her as the finest ballerina of her generation in the West."
Alessandra Ferri is an Italian prima ballerina. She danced with the Royal Ballet (1980–1984), American Ballet Theatre (1985–2007) and La Scala Theatre Ballet (1992–2007) and as an international guest artist, before temporally retiring on 10 August 2007, aged 44, then returning in 2013. She was eventually granted the rank of prima ballerina assoluta.
Garry Stewart is an Australian dancer and choreographer. He was the longest-serving artistic director of the Australian Dance Theatre, taking over from Meryl Tankard in 1999 and finishing his term at the end of 2021. He is renowned for his unusual, post-modern interpretations of classical ballets.
Lisa Teresita Pacheco Macuja-Elizalde is a Filipino prima ballerina. In 1984, she became the first foreign soloist to ever join the Kirov Ballet. In the Philippines, she is the Artistic Director and CEO of Ballet Manila and was the Vice-Chairman of the Philippine UNESCO National Commission. She was also the Commissioner of the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women. Macuja-Elizalde is also Directress and faculty member of the Lisa Macuja School of Ballet – a training center for ballet professionals who are steeped in the Russian Vaganova method. She is also the founder of Project Ballet Futures (PBF) - an internationally recognized community scholarship program that provides training and performance opportunities for deserving public school students.
Russell Maliphant is a British choreographer who trained at the Royal Ballet School and graduated into Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet before leaving to pursue a career in independent dance. As a performer Maliphant worked with companies such as DV8 Physical Theatre, Michael Clark Company, Laurie Booth Company and Rosemary Butcher. He has studied anatomy, physiology, bio-mechanics, and the Rolfing Method of Structural Integration. In April 2000, he received an Arts Council Fellowship. He has created over 20 pieces to date, collaborating closely with lighting designer Michael Hulls, and has set works on renowned companies and artists including: Lyon Opera Ballet, Ricochet Dance Company, The Batsheva Ensemble and Ballet de Lorraine.
Crystal Pite is a Canadian choreographer and dancer. She began her professional dance career in 1988 at Ballet BC and in 1996 she joined Ballett Frankfurt under the tutelage of William Forsythe. After leaving Ballett Frankfurt she became the resident choreographer of Montreal company Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal from 2001 to 2004. She then returned to Vancouver where she focused on choreographing while continuing to dance in her own pieces until 2010. In 2002 she formed her own company called Kidd Pivot, which produced her original works Uncollected Work (2003), Double Story (2004), Lost Action (2006), Dark Matters (2009), The You Show (2010), The Tempest Replica (2011), Betroffenheit (2015), and Revisor (2019) to date. Throughout her career she has been commissioned by many international dance companies to create new pieces, including The Second Person (2007) for Netherlands Dans Theater and Emergence (2009) for the National Ballet of Canada, the latter of which was awarded four Dora Mavor Moore Awards.
The National Dance Awards 2001, were organised and presented by The Critics' Circle, and were awarded to recognise excellence in professional dance in the United Kingdom. The ceremony was held at the Royal Opera House, London, on 12 January 2002, with awards given for productions staged in the previous year.
The National Dance Awards 2002, were organised and presented by The Critics' Circle, and were awarded to recognise excellence in professional dance in the United Kingdom. The ceremony was held at Sadler's Wells Theatre, London, on 14 January 2003, with awards given for productions staged in the previous year.
The National Dance Awards 2003, were organised and presented by The Critics' Circle, and were awarded to recognise excellence in professional dance in the United Kingdom. The ceremony was held at Sadler's Wells Theatre, London, on 13 January 2004, with awards given for productions staged in the previous year.
The National Dance Awards 2004, were organised and presented by The Critics' Circle, and were awarded to recognise excellence in professional dance in the United Kingdom. The ceremony was held at the Royal Opera House, London, on 20 January 2005, with awards given for productions staged in the previous year.
To recognise excellence in professional dance in the United Kingdom, The Critics' Circle organised and presented the National Dance Awards 2005. The ceremony was held at the Royal Opera House, London, on 19 January 2006, with awards given for productions staged in the previous year.
Giant Olive Theatre Company was founded in the summer of 2008 by Artistic Director George Sallis. The company stages classical theatre, commedia dell'arte, dance, contemporary plays, comedy, new writing and has become well known for its Charles Dickens Christmas adaptations along with its bold dance projects including the GOlive Dance and Performance Festival, curated by Donald Hutera.
David Dawson, is a British choreographer.
The Hungarian National Ballet is a classical ballet dance company based in Budapest, Hungary. The ballet company is attached to the Hungarian State Opera House, which is also home to the Hungarian State Opera company and the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra. The ballet company was established in 1884.
To recognise excellence in professional dance in the United Kingdom, The Critics' Circle organised and presented the National Dance Awards 2006. The ceremony was held at the Sadler's Wells Theatre, London, on 25 January 2007, with awards given for productions staged in the previous year.
Jacky Lansley is a British choreographer, writer and performance maker. Classically trained, Lansley performed at the Royal Ballet before seeking a new way of using her art form to make a political stance, something she described as becoming a 'speaking dancer'. Since being a founding member of the X6 Dance Space in 1976, she has been a major influence and pioneer of the independent and feminist dance scene in the UK.